Supreme Court to recontinue Election delay case today
Supreme Court of Pakistan resumed hearing the election delay suo motu case on Thursday, April 27, after political parties failed to initiate a dialogue to decide on a date for polls as directed by the Court. The three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, had asked political parties to hold talks on April 26 and come up with a response by April 27. Since no talks were held, the government and the nation are waiting for the Court to make its next move.
The Court had ordered political parties to decide the matter quickly, since the May 14 date for elections was still in the field, and the order was binding on all authorities. However, the government refused to comply with the April 4 directive, leaving the nation and political players in suspense.
On Wednesday morning, there was much speculation as the top court revised the roster for Bench-I. The CJP was originally scheduled to lead a three-member bench consisting of Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel to handle ordinary cases. However, due to the CJP’s unavailability, the bench was removed from the list.
Despite the government’s recent notification of the act, the Supreme Court suspended the implementation of the law through an order issued on April 13, even before it was enacted. Both CJP Bandial and Justice Isa, along with Justice Masood, are the most senior judges of the apex court and are also part of the committee that, under the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Bill 2023, would oversee matters related to the constitution of benches and suo motu cases.
In the afternoon, it was announced that the bench led by the CJP would only handle the case related to the postponement of elections and would work privately for the remainder of the day. Other benches will take up routine matters.
The nation has been waiting anxiously for a decision since the Court directed the State Bank of Pakistan and Finance Division to allocate/release Rs21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan, a move that was expressly forbidden by the National Assembly. Lawmakers from the ruling coalition had termed the recent orders of the Supreme Court “an insult to parliament,” and had asked Prime Minister Shehbaz to stay “firm” on the issue of “supremacy of the parliament.”
As the nation waits for the Supreme Court to make its next move, it is important to respect the legislative domain of the parliament and exercise restraint. The Constitution exclusively vests powers related to a money bill in the National Assembly and confers power and authority to approve expenditure from the Federal Consolidated Fund on elected members.
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Refusal of funds by the National Assembly does not imply a lack of trust in the federal government or the prime minister.
It is important for political players to put their differences aside and work towards holding free, fair, and transparent elections in the country. Supreme Court’s decision should be respected and implemented in the interest of democracy and the nation. The government and political parties must work towards finding a solution to the current impasse and ensuring that the upcoming elections are held in a timely and peaceful manner.
